


You and me in the war of the end times

by Beleriandings



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Cuddling, The Year That Never Was (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28411377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beleriandings/pseuds/Beleriandings
Summary: Martha met Jack's team once, about six months in.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper & Martha Jones
Comments: 19
Kudos: 38
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: The Year That Never Was Fest





	You and me in the war of the end times

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Torchwood Fan Fests The Year That Never Was Fest prompts 1) "connections" and 10) "missing/on the run".

Martha met Jack’s team once, about six months in.

She’d had a tip-off about their whereabouts, from a contact she trusted. A team of freedom fighters, she was told; fierce and elusive, holding their own against the toclafane. Not many could claim that, except for her. They might make good allies, she’d thought. She could at least pass on the message the Doctor had charged her with before she went on her way.

She found them sheltering temporarily in a crumbling First World War era bunker, on a small island off the west coast of Scotland. They came out one by one, blinking in the dim light of a cloudy evening. Pointing guns at her, of course; clearly they had learned to never let down their guard. If they hadn’t, she supposed, they wouldn’t have lasted this long.

“I’m Martha Jones” she said, making her voice carry. “Are you Torchwood?”

They all stiffened at that, looking at each other with wary eyes. They didn’t lower their guns. “Stop! No closer yet” said the woman who had clearly taken on the position of leader. Dark hair, Welsh accent, and a hard look in her eyes as she held the gun absolutely steady. “How do we know you’re who you say you are?”

Martha said nothing, but merely held up her empty hands. The woman tensed as she reached slowly to her right wrist, drawing back her sleeve a little to show the leather strap on her wrist. “This was given to me by Captain Jack Harkness” she said. “I’ve been using it to travel the world, keeping one step ahead of the toclafane.”

The team looked at each other again, and she could see hope in their eyes this time. “That… that definitely looks like Jack’s” said the tall man, one blue eye half closed by clearly recently-healed burns that covered most of the side of his face and down his neck. “I’m pretty certain.”

The woman nodded. “I think so too, Ianto, but let’s not jump to conclusions. Besides, she could’ve stolen it” she said. “Tosh?”

“Running a scan” said the other woman, shorter and festooned with braces and tool belts holding all manner of equipment, some of it in pieces. She was clearly favouring one leg over the other as she stepped carefully forward, holding up some sort of makeshift instrument with what looked like a miniature satellite dish bolted on. “She seems to be clean for toclafane tech at least.”

“There’s some sort of perception filter on her” said the other man, squinting at her with suspicious eyes. His hand not holding the gun was swathed in bandages to the shoulder and strapped up in a makeshift sling; she wondered how he’d injured it. “Are we sure we trust her, Gwen?”

The first woman – Gwen – gave her a hard look up and down. “We can’t be sure with anyone, Owen” she said. “But… _Martha Jones_. You’ve heard the stories, it all fits. And if she knows Jack...” she looked around at the other three, and some sort of unspoken agreement clearly passed between them.

Then the moment was over, and the tall man – Ianto, she remembered – smiled, stepped aside and gestured to the concrete steps down to the bunker, like some sort of doorman. “Then our home is your home, Martha Jones.”

She nodded at all of them, following them down. “Thank you” she said, and meant it with all her heart.

* * *

By the time they’d eaten around the small, smokey campfire, and told their stories – the team had been eager to hear everything she could tell them about Jack, not that she had much to give them – and she’d told them about the Doctor’s message, Martha felt almost like one of the family. It was nostalgic in a way that made pain and loss lance through her heart, as so many things did these days. But despite all that, it was comforting.

That had been hours ago, though. Now it was just her and Gwen left awake, sitting by the remains of the fire and watching as Ianto, Tosh, and Owen lay close together, amidst a frayed bundle of blankets.

“Look at them sleeping curled up like a basket of kittens” said Gwen, a soft, sad smile on her face. Sure enough, they were sleeping nestled close to one another, with Tosh in the middle, her head resting on Ianto’s shoulder, Owen’s good arm around her waist as they slept, the other curled close to his chest. If Martha’s own experience was anything to go by, she suspected such deep sleep wasn’t a usual occurrence; normally, she herself had too many nightmares to ever sleep this peacefully, and she assumed the same was true for anyone who had survived this long in the world the Master had made.

“They’d never have been caught dead doing that, in the old days” continued Gwen, laughing slightly. “None of us would have.”

“You’re lucky” said Martha. “You have each other.”

“Only by dumb luck.” Gwen sighed. “God, to think, with the way things were early on, right after…” she tailed off, in the way people often did when they referred to _before_ and _after_ ; that was okay though, Martha knew exactly what she meant. “Owen and Ianto would’ve been at each other’s throats, I would’ve been at Owen’s throat too, Tosh hated it, was upset all the time. Which then upset Ianto, which made him more on edge, which made the rest of us more on edge too. It was hell, some of those first days.”

“Did you ever go your separate ways?” asked Martha.

“We did try splitting up, early on. Soon after we got back from the Himalayas, Tosh and Owen went to try to raid an old UNIT facility just outside London, for medical supplies and any tech they could find. Meanwhile, Ianto and I went back to Cardiff, to try to check on Rhys – that’s my boyfriend, back home – and grab what supplies we could from the Hub. We never got through. We barely escaped with our lives.”

Martha winced. “What happened?”

“I broke my ankle, and Ianto wouldn’t leave me; that’s how he got those burns, you know. Tosh and Owen didn’t do much better, got chased through the sewers by toclafane before they lost them, and ran out of ammo trying to cover themselves. No, we’re better off together.”

“Sounds like it, yeah” said Martha sympathetically. She’d had her own fair share of close calls and lucky escapes from the toclafane, and she had a perception filter and a vortex manipulator to get her to safety; all they had was each other.

“It’s a wonder we even survived long enough to reach this point, all things considered” Gwen was saying, her voice drawing Martha back to the present.

“But you did” said Martha. “And you’re going to survive even longer, yeah?”

“We’re going to try” said Gwen.

“Nope. You’re going to _survive_ ” said Martha, raising her eyebrows and meeting Gwen’s eye. “Yeah? Don’t make me go back to Jack and tell him you lot died on my watch.”

“Your watch… over the whole world?” said Gwen.

“That’s the one.”

Gwen chuckled softly, but she looked sad. “I really, really wish I could promise that, Martha. But… it’s been hard, you know? Well, of course you do, what am I saying. But...”

“What?”

Gwen gestured at the team, lying asleep before them. “I just want to do right by them, since they’ve sort of... mostly accepted me as their leader now. God knows they deserve someone to look after them. Ianto’s only twenty-four and on top of everything he’s had his heart broken and watched his world fall apart for the second time in a year, poor thing. Tosh is clearly terrified for her family, traumatised by something Jack saved her from that she still won’t tell us about, she just won’t talk about _anything_ , and it’s bloody annoying – I wish she’d just talk to us – but I feel like a horrible person for thinking so. And of course Owen’s sometimes just an utter shit to everyone and it drives me up the wall, but I know it’s just how he copes, because he still blames himself for Jack leaving even though it’s not his fault. And _Rhys_ … oh God, Martha, I miss Rhys. He’s not involved in Torchwood or anything; he’s just normal, y’know? He doesn’t deserve any of this shit. I mean, nobody does, not a single person on the planet, but… well.”

Martha nodded. “Have you tried to contact him again?”

She shook her head. “We had to decide early on, after Ianto and I barely got out of Cardiff alive: we decided Rhys’d be safer if I didn’t try and make any contact. All our families, actually. And it’s true! Of course he’s safer… I hope so, anyway. Not that I know. But even if he’s okay, he probably thinks I’m dead, and...” Gwen was almost crying now, and Martha put her hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles there. Gwen sniffed. “And we’re all constantly getting hurt and sick, and our escapes are getting narrower every day… and I...” Gwen shook her head, tears dripping down from her eyes. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this, Martha” said Gwen softly, face twisting in the firelight as she surveyed the sleeping forms of the other three. “I don’t know how long I can look after them. I’m so _tired_.”

Martha didn’t say anything, just keeping her hand resting on Gwen’s back; she sensed that more than anything, she just needed someone to be there and be witness to what she said. And that she wasn’t done. Sure enough, Gwen dropped her face down into her hands, overgrown hair falling over them for a moment, and raised her head and spoke again. “I never realised how _hard_ it was, being Jack. I’m not good at it” she said. “But someone’s got to be him, someone’s got to carry on and look after the others, and try and find a way to save the bloody world, and–”

“Gwen.”

Gwen looked around and blinked at her.

“You don’t need to be Jack.”

“But–”

“They’re still alive, aren’t they?” said Martha. “Still free, still fighting?”

“Yes, just about” said Gwen, with a soft, hollow laugh.

“Then you’re doing what you can” said Martha. “More than you can sustain, by the looks of it. You look exhausted.”

Gwen laughed again. “Thanks.”

“Call it a diagnosis, if it helps” said Martha. She sighed. “Look, Gwen. I know you’re trying to be everything that Jack was before, while dealing with… all of this. And I know you’re doing it because you care so much, about everything and everyone and because what’s happened to the world makes you very, very angry. Yeah?”

Gwen looked up at her. “…Really bloody furious” she said. “Yeah.”

“Yeah” said Martha, smiling a little sadly. “But… you can’t carry on like this, Gwen. I mean that literally. You have to let them take care of you, too, or you’re going to make a mistake, and someone’s going to die. We can’t all be Jack Harkness.” She frowned, thinking of the way Jack had been when she met him. “To tell you the truth I don’t know if even he can always be that person that you think he is.”

Gwen laughed softly. “Maybe not” she said, turning her head to look up at Martha. “So? What do you suggest then, Doctor Jones?”

Martha sighed. “Just… let them take care of you” she said, gesturing to where the others were sleeping. “I know you think you have to look after them, but… there are four of you. I’ve been alone so long, and I’m so tired, but you four have each other. Make use of that, be a team. You’re clearly a good leader – no, don’t try and deny it, you are – but you can’t be the leader all the time.”

Gwen stared at her for a long moment. “Thanks” she said at last, before fixing Martha with an intent sort of look. “But only if you do the same… yeah?”

“What?”

Gwen gave her a knowing look. “If I’m trying desperately hard to be Jack, then you’re wearing yourself through trying to be the Doctor” she said. “No, I’ve never met him, but I can see it in you, Martha. I could tell the moment you told us about him.”

Martha opened her mouth and closed it again. “I… yeah” she said, denial dying on her lips as she realised Gwen was right. “I suppose I have been, a bit.”

“And the world needs that” said Gwen, looking sad. “Don’t get me wrong… if anyone’s going to end this, it’s you. But it makes me sad, thinking of how alone you must be. At least I’ve got this lot.”

“Well” said Martha gently. “So have I, tonight.”

Gwen looked at her for a moment, surprised, before she smiled big and wide. “Well, that’s true” she said. She put her arm around Martha.

Martha, more grateful than she knew how to say, put her arm around Gwen too. “Come on” she said. “I think it’s pretty safe here. We should take the chance to get some sleep too.”

Gwen looked doubtful. “I don’t know… maybe I should stay up and–”

“You need sleep” said Martha firmly. “Doctor’s orders. Plus I’ve got this...” she dug around inside her shirt, pulling out the Tardis key on its string, and saw Gwen’s eyes focus on it. “Perception filter. Should cover all of us, if we sleep close together. We should be safe enough here, tonight.”

Slowly, Gwen nodded. “But only if you sleep, too” she said. “We’ll look after you. There are four of us, and only one of you, so you’re safer than you’d usually be.”

Martha only hesitated a moment before nodding. “I guess we do both need the rest” she said.

And that was how they ended up snuggling down by the dying remains of the fire. Gwen curled up on Ianto’s other side, and Martha on Owen’s – being careful of his injured arm – the two of them bracketing the rest of the sleeping team between them. Keeping them safe, sharing their warmth.

When morning came, Martha left with the first light. But as she said goodbye to each of them with hugs and quiet assurances – and an extra smile for Gwen, because they shared something now, a weight of responsibility – she felt stronger than she had in a long time.

Ready to carry on her journey, as they would on theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Calamity Song by the Decemberists. Fun facts: this was actually a subsidiary AU that diverged from another canon-divergence AU that I've got in the works, but I wanted this version too! So I hope if you enjoyed this, that you enjoy that one too when I post it!


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